The "Environmental Page" or

As a human taking up space on the planet, and consuming its resources, we are all called upon to be good stewards of the Earth.

Unfortunately, we are contributing to the rapid eradication (i.e., extinction) of species (plant & animal*) due to:

destruction of habitats,

depletion of resources for all species,

contamination of water (both fresh and marine),

and altering climate faster than natural processes would normally account, or can compensate, for.

A report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) states that since 1970 there has been "a 60% average decline in population size across thousands of kinds of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish since 1970. The growth of human consumption (specifically through agriculture and the overexploitation of various species) is the biggest driver of the drop in biodiversity." - TIME magazine, November 12, 2018issue

RECENT EXTINCTION EVENTS

* - A 14-year old, Hawaiian land snail, named "George," died on January 1, 2019 in a lab in Kailua, Oahu. He was the last of his species. - TIME magazine, January 21, 2019issue

* - The world's last male northern white rhino, named "Sudan", was euthanized to end his age-related suffering. (He was 45 years old.) As the last male, this leaves his species on the brink of extinction. - TIME magazine, April 2, 2018issue

* - In a press release on January 22, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that the Eastern Puma (a.k.a., cougar or mountain lion) is now extinct and removed it from the federal "Endangered Species" list. (Read more at The Center for Biological Diversity's web site.)

A Brief List of Recent Weather/Climate History and Events

Whether you believe in climate change or not, if your memory is good enough to remember back to the 1980's (or earlier), you know that even your local climate is changing. Here in New Jersey, for example, tornados were very rare back in the early 1980s, but since the 1990's, twisters have become more common. Here's a very short list of other recent weather events (read from the bottom up):

According to the 2018 National Climate Assessment, produced by the U.S. government, from the early and mid-20th century, fewer than 20% of U.S. counties had an annual disaster. Today, it is about 50% that do. - USA Today, March 5, 2019 (For more information, go to: https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report#section-1948)

January, 2019 saw global temperatures 1.58ºF above average, tying the record for the third highest. - TIME magazine, March 4, 2019issue

"Since 2009, Antarctica has lost almost 278 billion tons (252 billion metric tons) of ice per year, the new study found. In the 1980s, it was losing 44 billion tons (40 billion metric tons) a year. The recent melting rate is 15 percent higher than what a study found last year." - ABCNEWS.COM, January 15, 2019

On October 8, 2018, the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations stated that a global temperature rise of 1.5º C (2.8º F) will cross a line which will cause some of the worst effects of climate change. These include the disappearance of some island nations (due to sea level rise because of melting polar ice), unpredictable weather patterns, and the destruction of ecosystems. As of 2018, the planet's temperature has already risen 1ºC (1.8º F) as a result of human activity. The planet could pass the 1.5º C threshold by 2030 (12 years from now). -TIME magazine,October 22, 2018issueTo see the IPCC's report in detail, go to this web address:http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that In 2017, weather and climate cost the U.S. economy $306 billion (this includes everything from damage to homes, to crops being wiped out). - TIME magazine, August 20, 2018issue

The costs for weather and climate damage in 2016 and 2015 were $49 billion and $24 billion, respectively. - from NOAA's website (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events/US/2016 and https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events/US/2015)

In a study published in the journal Nature on June 13, 2018, scientists have found that Antartica is dumping ice into the ocean at the staggering rate of about 2 billion tons per year. And as big as this amount is, it is getting worse. Of the nearly 3 trillion tons of ice loss since 1992, 40% has happened in the last five years. - TIME magazine, June 25, 2018issue

May 17, 2018, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announce that April, 2017 was the 400th consecutive month of above-average temperatures for the planet. Also of note:

April, 2018 (globally) was the third warmest on record,

Europe had its warmest April on record, and Australia, its 2nd warmest,

in the town of Nawabshah in southern Pakistan, the temperature reached 122.4º F on April 30th, which may have been the wamest April temperature on the planet, according to Meteo France,

North America had its 13th coldest April since 1997, with an average U.S. temperature of 48.9º F (which was 2.2º below average),

carbon dioxide (one of the notable heat trapping gases, and produced in large quatities by mankind's burning of fossil fuels) in Earth's atmosphere reached 410 parts per million (ppm) which according to the Scripps Institue, is the highest level in at least 800,000 years. - USA Today, May 17, 2018

May 6, 2018: Phoenix, AZ has a temperature record of 106º F for that day. - from a broadcast of ABC-TV's "World News"

In a landmark study published in the journal Climate Change, 60% of plants in the world's richest forests are at risk of extinction in the next century unless stronger measures to combt climate change are put into practice. - TIME magazine, April 2, 2018issue

According to the World Bank, climate change could lead to the mass displacement of people (est. 143 million) by the year 2050. Much of the displacement is expected to occur in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. It is expected that such mass movements of people will put strains on national and local governments. - TIME magazine, April 2, 2018issue

As of January 20, 2018, following three years of unprecedented drought, the city of Cape Town in the Union of South Africa, has projected that its reservoirs will run out of water by April 21, 2018 (~90 days). Planners have determined that taps will have to be turned off (except for essential services) once reservoir capacity drops to 13.5%. "Residents will be allowed to collect 6.6 gallons of water a day from municipal water points" (which are to be protected by armed guards) after that. - TIME magazine, January 29, 2018issue
(For a more detailed, first-person account, see the TIME magazine, February 19, 2018 issue.) (UPDATE 9/18/2018: After getting people to follow strict water rationing (50 liters per person per day), heavy fines for households that exceeded that limit, and people limiting toilet flushes to once per day, the "day zero" event has been pushed out to 2019.)

The city of New Orleans, Louisiana shuts down due to extensive ice and temperatures down to 21ºF, which broke a record of 23ºF set in 1977. - NPR News, January 17, 2018

Penrith, Australia hits a new record temperature of 117ºF (47ºC) on January 7, 2018, making it the hottest place on earth for that day. - TIME magazine, January 22, 2018issue

According to NOAA, the cost of damage caused by natural disasters in the U.S. in 2017 was $306 billion, making it the most expensive year on record. - TIME magazine, January 22, 2018issue

December 1st-13th, 2017 marks the warmest December on record in Alaska. - The Weather Channel, December 14, 2017

The winter of 2015-2016 was Europe's warmest ever, with snow cover in the southern French Alps just 20% of its typical depth, with December of 2015 being its driest in 150 years of record keeping. - TIME magazine, December 11, 2017issue

From 1960 to 2017 the snow season in the Alps has shortened by 38 days; starting an average of 12 days later and ending 26 days earlier than normal. - TIME magazine, December 11, 2017issue

A study found that ocean acidification, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, to be a great danger to marine life. The report found threats like plastic pollutants had affected organisms' ability to withstand acidification. - TIME magazine, November 6, 2017issue

Only TWO Adélie penguin chicks that survived the breeding season in an eastern Antartic colony of 18,000 pairs. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) "unusually extensive sea ice" formed in late summer which meant parents had to trek farther than usual to find krill, and their babies starved to death waiting for them to come back. - TIME magazine, October 30, 2017issue

July 12, 2017, A colossal iceberg having almost twice the volume of Lake Erie, broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica. It has been estimated to weigh over 1 trillion tons, and covers 2,240 square miles (5,802 square kilometers), which is roughly the size of the state of Delaware. - from Accuweather.com

January 2017, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) announces that the 2016 has now become the WARMEST YEAR on record, with average global land & sea temperatures 58.69ºF (14.83ºC) which is 1.69ºF ABOVE the 20th century's average. This broke 2015's record by 0.07ºF. (This record has been broken five times, in 2005, 2010, 2014, 2015, and now, 2016.) - from NOAA's website

According to the World Meteorological Organization, the average concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) reached 400 parts per million (ppm) in 2016. This is a threshold that even pessimistic climate-change scientists thought wouldn't be reached for decades. - from TIME Magazne from Oct. 24, 2016issue

Global wildlife populations shrank by almost 60% in 40 years, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). According to the WWF's findings, mammals, birds and fish dropped by 58% from 1970-2012. They forecast that the world might lose two-thirds of wildlife populations by 2020. - from TIME Magazine from Oct. 27, 2016issue

June 5, 2016, Tropical Storm "Colin" is the third "named" storm this year. The earliest on record for this many "named" storms. - from a broadcast of ABC-TV's "World News with David Muir"

January 20, 2016, NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) announce that 2015 was the WARMEST YEAR (by the widest margin) for the planet on record since record keeping began in 1880. It is also the fourth year since 2000 that a global record has been broken. - from a National Public Radio (NPR) newscast, November 19, 2015

October, 2015 was the WARMEST October on record. The average temperature for the month was 1.76 degrees WARMER than in 2014. This includes both air AND ocean temperatures. - NOAA

August-October, 2012, Las Vegas, Nevada received 4.7" of rain. More than the city gets, on average, in an entire year.

June, 2012 over 3,282 heat records broken, or tied, throughout the U.S. in this month alone. - Climate Central web site

The warmest spring on record. The average temperature throughout the U.S. for March through May, 2012 was 57.1°F (13.94ºC) which is 5°F above average. - from a broadcast of ABC-TV's "World News with Diane Sawyer"

Spring, 2012: A "record for breaking [weather] records" in the U.S. Heat records are broken in scores of American cities all over the country in March & April. - from a broadcast of ABC-TV's "World News with Diane Sawyer"

Spring, 2012, a record in the number AND magnitude of tornadoes in the midwestern & southeastern U.S. - from Newsweek magazine, December 6, 2010issue

September, 2010: 135 daily rainfall records were broken along the East Coast of the U.S. (e.g., Wilmington, NC got 19.7 inches of rainfall in 3 days.) - from Newsweek magazine, December 6, 2010issue

2010 beat 1998 as the hottest year on record. - from Newsweek magazine, December 6, 2010issue

August, 2010: An ice island four times the size of Manhattan broke off from the Greenland glacier. (Manhattan is 22.7 square miles. Approximately 13.4 miles long and 2.4 miles wide at its widest.) - from Newsweek magazine, December 6, 2010issue

2000-2009 has been the warmest decade on record worldwide. - from a broadcast of ABC-TV's "World News with Diane Sawyer"

By the early "double-aughts," the U.S. had one summer of severe draught in the southwest U.S., followed by severe flooding in the southeast, followed by another year of severe drought in the central west, followed by a year of severe drought in the southeast. (Do you remember the legal battles that Florida, Georgia and Alabama had over water rights to their shared rivers because of the droughts back in 2008-2009?)

At this point, you just can't keep saying: "These are all just coincidence."

When the atmosphere heats up, it means you'll not only have draughts, but you'll also have more atmospheric energy for severe storms (including winter storms), and also, floods. Climate change also means that there will be fluctuations in hot & cold, dry & wet weather, in extremes that we've never seen before; and in places we wouldn't expect to see them. Such changes can lead to crop failures, pest infestations (e.g., the A. aegypti and A.albopictus mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus), wild fires (e.g., the "Thomas" wildfire in California, Dec. 2017), and all of those problems that come in their aftermath, such as the:

danger of man-made chemicals that get released into the air when homes burn from wild fires; and then are blown far and wide to people and places many miles from where the wild fires occured,

strain on local resources and infrastructure when victims of climate change, both domestic AND international, move to already heavily populated areas that may not be able to handle more people moving in,

species of plants and animals, originally seen only in warmer climates, coming further and further north; disrupting ecosystems, food production, recreational areas, and commerce.

And remember, the climate doesn't care about borders or where you live. You can't hide from "Mother Nature!"

What you can do

Regardless of wheter you believe that climate change is natural or man-made, the fact of the matter is YOU are one of the factors that can possibly help bring things back into balance.

This page provides links to a variety of environmental web sites. Find one that suits you, and contribute. Whether its donating your time, energy, knowledge, skill, or being a "checkbook activist," every person's involvement can make a difference over time.

Remember, you're not really "saving the Earth," the Earth will go on just fine if mankind suffers and goes extinct. You're really helping to preserve your OWN skin (and those of any descendants you have, or HOPE to have).

Get involved now, and do something to help reduce or eliminate the problems of climate change NOW.

And thank you for taking the time to read this.

(CLIMATE CHANGE TIP: If sitting in your parked car for any length of time, merely looking at your smartphone, turn off the engine. You are both wasting fuel, and adding to greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. If you need to either stay warm or get cool, go inside.)